Official opening of the Klaus Faber hybrid operating theatre

“We say thank you!” – announced a sign welcoming the crowd attending the festive opening of the Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre on Wednesday evening this week at the conference room of the Caritas Clinic in Saarbrücken. In conjunction with a notable investment by its owner, the 1.6 million-euro donation from the charitable Klaus Faber Foundation has enabled the Caritas Clinic to build a hybrid operating theatre at the St. Theresia site, thus providing the region’s patients with new treatment options.

“The new hybrid operating theatre combines the diagnostic capacities of high-precision imaging with the hygienic standards and safety of a state-of-the-art operating room”, said Rafael Lunkenheimer, CEO of cts, in his welcome address for the numerous guests. “What this means for the patients are gentler procedures with a lower exposure to radiation, and individually tailored therapy options and treatment concepts.” The cts CEO emphatically thanked the Klaus Faber Foundation in the name of all the staff at the Caritas Clinic. He particularly thanked its founder, who was unable to attend in person due to illness, and paid tribute to him as an “important business personality”. “Supporting this project with foundation funds is a personal concern for Klaus Faber. Over and beyond the donation from the Klaus Faber Foundation, the additionally arising personnel and material costs will be covered from our own funds.”

“I have to admit that I am just a tiny bit disappointed that Mr. Faber is unable to attend himself”, said Monika Bachmann, Health Minister of the Saarland, with a little smile, “because we had actually agreed to meet here today at the donation ceremony in August." She took the opening of the Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre as an occasion to emphasize that this future-oriented investment will directly benefit the care provided to patients, and demonstrates the Saarland’s excellent positioning where innovative patient healthcare is concerned.

Minimally invasive, catheter-guided operations are a medical advance that is increasingly benefitting patients suffering from heart disease or vascular disorders. What this means exactly was literally visualized by Prof. Dr. Michael Kindermann for the guests attending the event when he illustrated with various pictures what the Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre is capable of and how precise the facility’s imaging is, enabling the examiner to recognize the finest guide wires in blood vessels, for example.

The Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre can now also serve the performance of complex, minimally invasive procedures for re-opening closed blood vessels or eliminating life-threatening, pathological vessel dilations (aneurysms). An open surgical procedure can meanwhile be switched to at any time. “If the minimally invasive procedure runs into problems, the surgeon can immediately operate in the same theatre without losing valuable time”, explained Prof. Kindermann.

Following the official handover of the donation in August last year, the Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre could now be officially opened on 8 March 2017 after a construction period of not even a year, as Dr. Andreas Schmitt, former senior consultant of the cardiology and pneumology unit at the Caritas Clinic in Saarbrücken and board member of the Klaus Faber Foundation, emphatically highlighted with appreciative respect.

“It is impressive that not only the time schedule could be complied with, but also the funding volume. The board of the Klaus Faber Foundation handed over the donation of 1.6 million euros for building the hybrid operating theatre in August 2016, and we are already celebrating its opening today. That is an absolutely commendable achievement on the part of the clinic. It is our firm conviction that the installation of this cutting-edge technology at this location will enter into a serendipitous liaison with the expertise already provided here on the medical and nursing side, to the benefit of patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases in our region. We very much welcome that the hybrid operating theatre has been awarded the name of the donor Klaus Faber as a sign of appreciation – simply Klaus Faber Hybrid Operating Theatre”, commented Dr. Andreas Schmitt. In the name of the foundation, he expressed his particular thanks to the 230 staff of Klaus Faber AG, who made the donation by the charitable Klaus Faber Foundation possible in the first place with the work they do. He asked the attending members of the supervisory and management board of Klaus Faber AG to convey the thanks of the foundation into the company.

The commercial director of the Caritas Clinic in Saarbrücken, Susanne Klein, gave the final speech, wherein she thanked all the parties involved once again for their great support for the project and its swift realization.